Good morning guys n girls.

Firstly i'm new to these boards so please bare with me

Ok, so i've just left a deposit on my first sapphire Cosworth

Its a 1988, 2WD in standard form in diamond white. 100k on the clock.

To cut a long story short, when viewing the car it was misfiring permanently. Now the chap said its probably down to the plugs or leads etc and would get it sorted for me before i pick it up.

The car has been poly bushed and felt really tight but when driving it was really slow.

Can anyone else add any past experiences as to what the problem might be?

Thanks, Liam

 

Liam, congrats on the purchase. Please advice on spec before saying why it could be slow

 

Welcome to pf mate, it could be a lot of things tbh, from something simple like a bad plug/lead/distributor cap, to something more serious like a valve, piston ring, head gasket, injector, wiring fault etc. Without seeing or hearing it it's too hard to say, but whatever happens, don't accept the car until the guy has properly fixed it!

Karl

 

congratz and welcome first you should change all engine sensors and servicing parts 'cause they are as old as the car itself sometimes.

 

Thanks for the warm welcome guys!

I did try to find the relevant introduction section but couldn't see one?

Right, the car itself is in standard form. Has original air box, turbo etc.

When the car starts up there's no knocking or banging at all, the engine just shakes left to right more than normal, along with the gear stick (suspect worn engine / box mounts - no biggie).

The chap said he wouldn't let me have the car until it was sorted as it only just started happening recently and he's going to foot the bill.

When i drove it, it came on boost but took a while to get there.

The seller seems a genuine, decent bloke. Even said he'd fill the tank up for me for the journey home.

Everything in the car works, has various old MOTs, just doesn't have much service history which is a shame but for under 6k what do you expect?

Here's the car, im sure it may of been on here at some point in its life? Surprised if not.

 

Did you sort the misfire? Mine does it when it been left over the winter, i normaly take the spark plugs out clean them up with a wire brush, put them in the oven on max heat for 20mins then set the gap again and its sorted.

Car looks really nice, like a standard looking saph

 

I haven't picked the car up yet buddy.....Only left a deposit. I don't pick it up for another 2 weeks yet until he's back off his hols.

Its been wax oiled underneath, only been welded on the rear wheel well (proper job). Sills and read chassis legs are in tact and not rotten aswel as arches.

Interior could do with a clean and there's abit of paintwork around the doors that needs touching up but i'll put my own mark on it over time.

Already thinking about a NMS stage one as they are only down the road from me, which i suppose is handy...

 

Lovely mate

I couldn't advice on the issue thoughts it's just a process of elimination.

I would do things that don't cost much to start, ie comp check and cylinder leakage (nms could do this if local) then set about ignition system and flow of the injectors

I'm sure it will be something simple if it's only just started!

Keep us up to speed

 

Looks nice in the pic mate, best colour for a Sapph!!

 

nice looking car mate

 

Welcome Liam, that is a bargain you got considering it's standard as well!

Re the misfire, as said it could be one or more of many things, but the first place to start is the ignition system, i.e. plugs/leads rotor arm and cap.

Martin

 

Cheers!

Hopefully it'll be sorted by the time he's back off his hols.

Daily hack is a 05 mk1 Octavia vRS running stage 1 @ 225bhp

 

My advice, drive your cossie daily after sorting it out and you will haven't most of the probs like oil leaks, misfiring etc. like 80 % of this "summer toys" staying in the garage over winter, even if the cars are stored correctly. The daily use make it more reliable IMO.

 

Liam please be aware that you probably owned your life until this point !! now the cossie will own you and your wallet

get some pics up

 

Hmmmm yeah this is what i was afraid of. Luckily i'm still living with the 'rents tho.

Insurance isn't bad tho considering, comes in at Ł541 fully comp. - Age 24

 

Welcome. Car looks very nice.

 

again looks sweet liam ,and best colour too .


standard cars looks so good

 

Well....Here she is...

 

Really chuffed with it, but i don't think its standard.

I'd appreciate it if someone could enlighten me with their YB wisdom on what to look for.

The car drives fine, although when at high boost in 5th the car let off on its own as if it had a fuel cut and dropped a fair amount of smoke out the rear end. That was 200 miles ago and hasn't done it since.

Going to get it in at Norris at some point if and when they can fit me in to get it all checked over as i'm worried about abusing it now.

No knocking from the engine, no piston slap either. The lifters sound abit tappity but other than that she's quiet. No smoke on startup or idle